Save up to $47.75/month

Compare quotes in just 6 minutes

Car Insurance Quotes from Trusted Companies

*Annual average savings for respondents who reported savings based on an insuranceQuotes September 2014 survey sent to 224,813 insurance shopping consumers that returned 154 survey respondents. Your actual savings may vary.

What should you do if you hit a parked car?

You backed out of a parking space a little too hard and slammed right into another car. Your own vehicle doesn’t have a scratch on it, but you can tell that the other car is damaged, and you don’t see the owner anywhere. What should you do?

Don’t do a hit-and-run

While it may be tempting to flee the scene and leave the other car’s owner to deal with the damage on his own, don’t do it.

By abandoning the vehicle without leaving contact information, you’ll be forcing an innocent person to pay or make a claim for an accident that you caused.

In addition to the moral issues inherent in the scenario, you also could be subject to severe penalties if a bystander sees your car or you are captured on-film by security cameras. In Pennsylvania, for instance, you might get off lightly with a fine of $300, or you could be imprisoned for up to 90 days -- or both. In some states, you might even lose your license, particularly if there already are other offenses on your driving record.

Stay at the scene

Instead of abandoning the damaged vehicle, “the driver should attempt to locate the owner of the struck vehicle to make notification,” says Brent Oberholtzer, director of public safety at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.

If you’re at grocery store or department store, for instance, ask a cashier to announce the vehicle’s license plate number over the loudspeaker. If you’re parked outside a smaller establishment, you may be able to track down the car’s owner by yourself.

In 2009, Kevin Foley, an insurance broker in Milltown, N.J., backed into a parked car while pulling out of a spot at a local library. He found the owner inside the library, showed her the damage and called the police so that an officer could take statements. He then provided his contact details so that she could call him with an estimate of the damage. “We settled it amicably for about $400,” he says.

If you have no way to track down the owner of the damaged car, “either contact the appropriate police agency where the accident took place to assist with notification, or, at minimum, leave a contact name, number and insurance information for the victim,” Oberholtzer says.

If you leave a note, place it underneath a windshield wiper. Pay attention to the weather: If it’s windy or raining, the driver isn’t likely to see the note. In that case, calling a law enforcement official is a necessity.

Decide whether to pay out of pocket or make a claim

Because you caused the accident, you’re responsible for the cost of the damage to the car. However, you can decide whether you’d prefer to pay for the repairs out of pocket or file a claim with your insurance company.

Foley opted to pay for the $400 worth of repairs on his own. “If the damage estimate came in at more than $1,000, I might consider reporting it to my insurance company, but $400?” he says. “That’s an inconvenience, but not a disaster, so I decided to pay for it out of my own pocket.”

If you do file a claim with your car insurance company, your insurer will cover the damage. But you may be paying for it for years to come.

“Over time, a chargeable accident may cost an individual a lot of money,” says Mark Carrasquillo, an insurance broker with E.G. Bowman Co. in New York City. “You should always pay for it out of pocket if it’s nominal, because you don’t want to be surcharged.”

How much will a claim cost in the long run?

Carrasquillo estimates that filing a claim for this sort of “at fault” situation could add $300 a year in premiums for the following three years. The exception is if the accident stemmed from circumstances beyond your control, such as severe weather or an object or animal in the road that you swerved to avoid.

If you’re not certain how much you’ll need to pay for the repair, ask the car’s owner to call you with an estimate first so that you can decide whether to file a claim or pay out of pocket. If you’re still not certain what to do after you receive the estimate, it may be worth calling your insurance agent, but only if he's an independent agent rather than someone who sells policies for just one company.

“If an agent only sells for one carrier, he’s obligated to inform the company about the incident even if you’re not filing a claim,” Carrasquillo says. “It’s an official notification that you’ve done something wrong.”

By contrast, he says, an independent agent "represents you, not the company.” Your agent can advise you on whether you should file a claim.

In many cases, the answer may be obvious. “If you’ve hit a parked Mercedes, and you know it’s going to cost $5,000 to fix it, let the insurance company pay for it,” Carrasquillo says.

Replacing a 1991hondacivic with a 1991hondacivic could raise insurance rates by 50%.

Calculator Assumptions

Calculator Assumptions:X

Calculator assumptions are based on a hypothetical driver with excellent credit, a bachelor’s degree, and no lapse in coverage who drives 15,000 miles per year, has state minimum policy limits, a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage and uninsured motorist coverage.

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer:X

See "Calculator Assumptions" for certain assumptions used in this calculation. Calculation based on historical data which may not predict future results. You should not rely solely on this tool to determine how much car insurance rates may go up or go down when insuring a different vehicle. There are numerous factors you should consider, including the terms of your insurance policy, the laws in your state, and your past driving record, among others. Your use of this tool is governed by insuranceQuotes' Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Recent Articles

Electric motors are factoring into vehicle propulsion in varying degrees, ranging from all-electric to mild-hybrid assist. All contribute to operation-cost savings and lower emissions. Benefits of … more

That speeding ticket is making you nervous. You know it is going to send your auto insurance rates skyrocketing. Then there is that citation you received for blowing through a stop sign. That will … more